Differential attenuation in star-forming galaxies at 0.3 ≲ z ≲ 1.5 in the SHARDS/CANDELS field
Résumé
We use a sample of 706 galaxies, selected as [O ii]λ3727 ([O ii]) emitters in the Survey for High-z Absorption Red and Dead Sources (SHARDS) on the CANDELS/GOODS-N field, to study the differential attenuation of the nebular emission with respect to the stellar continuum. The sample includes only galaxies with a counterpart in the infrared and log_10(M_*/M_⊙) > 9, over the redshift interval 0.3 ≲ z ≲ 1.5. Our methodology consists in the comparison of the star formation rates inferred from [O ii] and Hα emission lines with a robust quantification of the total star-forming activity (SFR _TOT) that is independently estimated based on both infrared and ultraviolet (UV) luminosities. We obtain |$f\, =\, E(B-V)_{\mathrm{stellar}}$|/E(B − V)_nebular = 0.69|$^{0.71}_{0.69}$| and 0.55|$^{0.56}_{0.53}$| for [O ii] and Hα, respectively. Our resulting f-factors display a significant positive correlation with the UV attenuation and shallower or not-significant trends with the stellar mass, the SFR_TOT, the distance to the main sequence, and the redshift. Finally, our results favour an average nebular attenuation curve similar in shape to the typical dust curve of local starbursts.